TOM Williamson will enter the next stage of his football career when the AFL draft is hosted in Sydney on Friday night.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Ararat-born footballer will compete against the top young talent for a spot on an AFL list in 2017.
Williamson he had worked hard from a young age to be on the edge of achieving his football dream.
“I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to go down to Ballarat and once I cracked into the North Ballarat Rebels system, it was onwards and upwards,” he said.
Williamson said he looked forward to watching the draft with his family and close friends to see if he is selected.
He said he does not know how he will react if he is picked.
“The whole thing is starting to feel real,” he said.
“I am sitting here now and in a couple of days I could be training with the best footballers in Australia.
“It will be a whole new experience and I am really looking forward to what is ahead.”
The former Ararat Rats and Mounties player stands at 190 centimetres but with the shift towards taller midfielders at the top level, Williamson said he thinks he would fit in quite well.
“I played a couple of games on the wing for the Rebels this year and really enjoyed that,” Williamson said.
“It showed my versatility on the ground and hopefully recruiters will look at that in the future.”
Williamson said he looks up to Western Bulldogs midfielder Marcus Bontempelli who has made a big impact in his three years at AFL level.
“I just like the modern day midfielder, the size, the way Bontempelli moves and wins his own footy,” he said.
“Barrass from West Coast Eagles is the half-back that I can see similarities with in myself.”
The only time Williamson’s body has prevented him from playing football was when he had a grade three medial ligament tear in his right knee in 2014.
He said it taught him about persistence and the commitment required to succeed at the elite level of sport.
“You gotta learn how to work by yourself through that, doing the extras putting in those weight session to get yourself right for the weekend,” he said.
Williamson said he would continue to keep the same words in the back of his mind no matter what happened on draft night.
“Do not count the moments, make the moments count you,” he said.
